An unlikely source has revealed the pandemic fears of children across the world - Santa's mailbag. A post office that answers mail it receives for Santa has described the concerns children have about COVID-19. The letters have the usual requests for Christmas gifts, but many have emotional outpourings that give an insight into how the pandemic is troubling children. A writer at the post office who replies to the notes said: "This year, we really feel their fears - for themselves, their grandparents or their parents. It's what really emerges from their letters. And in every country."
The post office has been inundated. It gets 12,000 letters a day. It has a team of 60 letter writers. They say children are confiding in Santa about their heartfelt fears. Perhaps parents are in the dark about this. One child wrote: "This year, more than the others, I need magic and to believe in you." Another put a mask inside her envelope so Santa would not spread the virus. The post office said the letters to Santa are a kind of release for children in lockdowns, especially those deprived of grandparents. It said: "Children are putting into words everything they have felt during this period."